Dla dzieci / For kids

Five in Poland: "Piątka z wyspy skarbów" ("Five on a Treasure Island")

During the spring of 1947 J.Arthur Rank, desperate to find foreign markets, signed a treaty with authorities in Poland to export British films there. Tit-for-tat film trade embargos between the US and UK had restricted foreign markets but Poland, starved of entertainment, provided alternative and fertile ground. From 1947 to 1948 30 British films were released in Poland. Later on, Rank became sales agent for Children's Film Foundation, and provided the opportunity for Five on a Treasure Island's Polish release (as "Piątka z wyspy skarbów") three years after its UK premiere.

Since publicity in Poland was sometimes hard to come by the CWF (CWF stands for Centrala Wynajmu Filmow - Central Film Distribution) commissioned artists - many with a connection with Warsaw's Fine Art Academy - like Jerzy Treutler to design their own posters. The work for Five on a Treasure Island (an example of which is reproduced here) draws on traditions of Polish Poster School more than the film itself.

Twarda Sztuka Foundation has produced a compelling study of British films and their interpretation through Polish Poster design in a beautifully designed book "77 Posters/77 Plakatow" which is available at www.twarda-sztuka.pl